Meyer Shank Racing announced on Tuesday that Tom Blomqvist, who drives for the team in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, will make his NTT INDYCAR SERIES race debut with the team this weekend in Toronto,
The news comes after Simon Pagenaud was again sidelined following his heavy crash last time out in Mid-Ohio, which saw Conor Daly sub for the Frenchman.
Speaking about today’s news, team co-owner Mike Shank said:
“Simon says he’s feeling fine and absolutely ready to get back in the car once he is cleared, but he knows there is an INDYCAR protocol in place to protect the drivers, so we just have to follow those guidelines. I know he was disappointed to end his long streak of starts but everyone wants him to be as healthy as possible so we just have to follow the indycar medical guidance on this.
We are fortunate to have Tom available to jump in on such short notice. He’s a champion, has a little bit of experience in the car, and is coming off another big IMSA win last weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, so this was not a tough call for us to make.”
Speaking about his upcoming race debut on the streets of Toronto, Blomqvist said:
“First and foremost, I’m thinking of Simon and hoping that he recovers as quickly as possible so that he can get back behind the wheel. I have to thank Mike and Jim for considering me to fill in this weekend. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what IndyCar has to offer. Diving straight into the deep end is an understatement after only having one test in the MSR Indy car last year. I’m excited but aware of the challenges getting up to speed during a race weekend, so I’m not putting any pressure on myself. Just going to go out there soak it all in and give it all I’ve got.”
Simon Pagenaud took to Twitter on Tuesday to say:
— Simon Pagenaud (@simonpagenaud) July 11, 2023
Helio Castroneves is looking forward to the streets of Toronto, saying:
“I’m very excited to get back to Toronto, it’s a very fun event getting to run on the streets. The team has been working so hard in the last few races to get some momentum going and I think we have made improvements and learned a lot. We will take that to Toronto this weekend and have a good race.”